Upon hearing Uchiha Itachi's words, Indra's expression shifted. This descendant… he knows of this man as well?
Could it be… my thousand-year grudge with Asura is somehow connected to him?
"So what if I know him? So what if I don't?" Indra retorted stiffly.
"Ancestor Indra, the boy whom your chakra has possessed in this lifetime is my younger brother—his name is Uchiha Sasuke," Itachi explained calmly.
"And Asura's chakra has possessed a blond-haired boy—he is the son of my sensei, and thus my junior disciple."
"Yeah, that much I understand," Asura nodded. Though his chakra had long slumbered, he retained fragments of memory connected to Naruto.
"So what of it?" Indra frowned. "What does our chakra's reincarnation have to do with that dark figure? And why do you wish to take my chakra?"
Itachi responded with heartfelt sincerity. "Ancestor Indra, please hear me out. Based on my research into the thousand-year history of the Shinobi World, I've learned this: Before his death, the Sage of Six Paths appointed Ancestor Asura as the heir to Ninshū, and he hoped you would support him."
"However, it seems you couldn't accept being defeated by Asura. After all, you were an undeniable genius from childhood—gifted beyond compare. You inherited the Sage's Rinnegan and created what became the ninja arts—ninjutsu—which weaponized chakra itself. Even the hand seals that have shaped a thousand years of shinobi history were your invention."
"But Asura was different. He was a late bloomer, a dunce who couldn't even use chakra properly when he was young."
"So when the Sage chose him to inherit Ninshū, you couldn't accept it. You disagreed with that decision."
"It was during that time that a shadowy manipulator stoked the flames. The doting older brother—Indra—and the little brother who followed him around—Asura—were pushed into an endless conflict."
"In the end, your side lost… but even in death, your chakra did not vanish. Instead, it reincarnated into future generations of outstanding shinobi, continuing the cycle of battle for over a thousand years."
"The entire shinobi world has suffered countless wars. Innocents have died, and Ninshū itself fractured beyond repair."
"That's why I've made this decision: to borrow the power of your chakra and Asura's—so I can end this senseless, eternal conflict once and for all. And, if possible, eliminate the true mastermind behind all of this."
Uchiha Itachi spoke with unwavering resolve.
Beside him, Uchiha Izumi nodded silently, in full agreement. She activated the power of Ōkuninushi-no-Mikoto, subtly influencing the emotions—the Seven Emotions—of Indra and Asura. She heightened Indra's lingering affection for his brother and gradually softened the hostility between them.
When Izumi had shared fragments of Itachi's memory, she learned that the concept of the seven emotions differed slightly between schools of thought. According to the Book of Rites, they were joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hate, and desire. In Confucianism, they were the same. Buddhism listed joy, anger, worry, fear, love, aversion, and desire. Medicine offered yet another version: joy, anger, anxiety, thought, sorrow, fear, and shock.
But beyond all theories, there were three key bonds: romantic love, friendship, and familial affection.
In the vision of her Mangekyō Sharingan, Izumi saw the threads of karma connecting Indra and Asura. The thread of familial love had nearly snapped—only a faint sliver still connected the two. Meanwhile, the thickest cord tying them together was one of hatred.
The hatred-thread represented Indra's deep resentment toward Asura.
Izumi quietly weakened the threads of anger surrounding Indra and Itachi, lessening his hostility toward the latter. At the same time, she tried to mend the frayed thread of brotherhood between Indra and Asura, while diminishing the choking grip of hatred.
Of course, she didn't forget to fortify the thread of love that bound her to Itachi.
"You're saying the mastermind… is that pitch-black guy?" Indra furrowed his brow.
"That's right. That shadowy figure is called Black Zetsu," Itachi replied.
"Black Zetsu, huh…" Indra silently etched the name into his memory.
"In fact, he shouldn't be unfamiliar to you," Itachi continued. "Think back. When your chakra possessed Uchiha Madara, didn't this person appear by his side?"
Indra's expression darkened. As he thought about it, he did recall someone claiming to be Madara's will—that same dark figure.
"Then that bastard… he's lived for over a thousand years?" Indra shivered, a chill creeping down his spine as the realization sank in.
He had been born inheriting the Sage's Rinnegan and chakra. No matter what challenges stood before him, he had overcome them alone. He believed, wholeheartedly, that strength alone could shape reality. That he—not Asura—was the rightful heir to Ninshū.
But that dream had shattered when his brother was chosen instead.
Blinded by his own power, Indra could no longer see light. Darkness consumed him. Under Black Zetsu's manipulation, he had killed his comrades, awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and challenged Asura, determined to crush all of Ninshū by himself.
Though he was eventually defeated by his father, Asura, and the combined might of all who followed them… even as the Sage lay on his deathbed, Indra had appeared to declare that his soul would never perish and that he would never acknowledge Asura as leader.
That declaration, in the end, drove the Sage to his grave.
His descendants—the Uchiha—had been locked in war with the clans descended from Asura: the Senju and the Uzumaki. And thus, the thousand-year war began, tearing Ninshū apart.
That… was the root of all hatred.
Indra recalled the days of harmony, when their father was still alive—when he and Asura were just siblings who respected and cared for one another.
But once Black Zetsu appeared, everything changed. He was the one who had poisoned Indra's heart, turned him against his comrades and family, and pushed him to betray everything he once loved. In the end, he even caused their father's death, staging a grotesque scene where the son smiled over the father's corpse.
Now, looking back at this tragic unraveling of their family—and the destruction of Ninshū—Indra realized…
It was all Black Zetsu's doing.
"If not for his manipulation, the world wouldn't have turned out this way."
So all the blame… lies with Black Zetsu!
"Forgive me, Asura…" Indra raised his index and middle fingers, placed them gently on Asura's forehead, and let out a long sigh. "It was my fault. I killed our father. I destroyed Ninshū."
"Brother…" Asura stood frozen, eyes filled with disbelief. After a thousand years… my brother is finally apologizing?
"But it's alright now," Indra said coldly, a glint flashing in his eyes. "The mistake I made—I'll end it myself."
"Uchiha Itachi… my descendant… I'll be borrowing your body!"
The moment the words left his lips, the six-pointed Mangekyō pattern swirled in Indra's eyes. He glared directly at Itachi. Caught off guard, Itachi's body trembled. His eyes lost focus, his expression vacant.
Indra walked up, placed his hand gently on Itachi's forehead, and said, "Once I've killed Black Zetsu, I'll make amends to Father. Until then—your body belongs to me."
His chakra had the power to possess any member of the Uchiha bloodline. Itachi was no exception.
"…Too bad," Itachi's voice cut through the air.
"I refuse."
In a flash, Itachi's hand pierced straight through Indra's chest.
"My body is still better off in my own hands," he said firmly. "As for your final wish… I'll fulfill it in your stead."